Bay Bridge

KENT ISLAND -- The old Kent Narrows drawbridge, the cause of epic bottlenecks and roadside picnics for two generations of beach-bound motorists, is to become a quaint landmark today as a massive new bridge 100 yards north fully opens for traffic.State transportation officials and area politicians gathered in the morning mist near the crest of the new 3,000-foot-long, six-lane concrete span and cut the ribbon on the eastbound lanes yesterday, 18 months after construction began and several weeks after the westbound lanes opened.

Danielle's "gift" to me on Mother's Day weekend was calling it quits on nursing. Mornings were the final frontier and she politely declined me both mornings. (Sniff, sniff.) So, I guess I get my body back, and at least it happened gradually and naturally. Plus, there was no biting involved in our final nursing sessions, so it didn't end on a sour note. For fellow mommies still in the nursing and pumping lifestyle, here's a great new resource: Moms Pump Here . After my recent post about retiring my breast pump after 12 months, I got a message from Kim Harrison.

Megan Childs and her four sisters came away safely from a private plane crash in Chesapeake Bay yesterday, thanks to what one official called a perfect emergency landing by her father.Megan, 12, and one of her sisters opened the doors to the plane as it settled into the water just south of the eastern end of the Bay Bridge, and she passed out life jackets while boats from a marina sped to their aid."We're all really good swimmers," said the Magothy River Middle School student, who is on a swim team.

The state on Friday will begin a weeklong project to install new safety measures on the westbound span of the Bay Bridge to guide traffic during two-way operation and eliminate some lane changes. Crews will install a buffer zone, rumble strips and continuous double yellow lines along the entire 4.3-mile length of the span, as recommended in a safety study last year. The result will mean motorists will not be allowed to switch between the left and center lanes at any time during a crossing.

The near-record amount of runoff that coursed down the Susquehanna River and into the Chesapeake Bay last spring has created the lowest salinity levels seen in the upper bay since 1985, when water monitoring stations were established. Gauges at the Conowingo Dam registered 5 trillion gallons of discharge during the three-month gusher that ended in May, enough to replace the water in the upper bay every 30 days, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The spring total is surpassed only by 1993, when 5.5 trillion gallons gushed from the river's mouth.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge has been closed to traffic as of 7:35 p.m., after high winds due to Hurricane Irene exceeded 55 mph, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority. All other bridge and toll facilities are open, although there are wind restrictions on the Key, Nice, Hatem and Tydings bridges due to recorded wind speeds up to 39 mph, according to an announcement on the MdTA website. As a result, those driving house trailers, box trailers, motorcycles, vehicles with roof-mount racks containing cargo or any other vehicle that may be subject to high winds should use caution on those bridges, according to MdTA.

There is nothing wrong with the Bay Bridge — it was the victim of short-sighted politicians back in the early 50's, who went against common sense that 4 lanes was the way to go ("Acrophobia on the bay," Oct. 18)! As for the bridge being unsafe, it's like the phrase, "guns don't kill people — people kill people. " The rush to get into line after going through the toll booth, failure to have any space between cars, the constant lane changes, wrongful hookups of trailers and tired/impaired drivers — the list goes on. I'm not a bridge building expert, but I don't see how the bridge — any bridge — could have stopped a tractor trailer at speed from going through the side barrier.

The last Saturday in June was the day we said goodbye to Baltimore and packed it up for the summer. As a child, it was a day I anticipated all year, then remembered for its unforgettable set of rituals. By the end of June the pace of our domestic life was slowing. The heat had set in, and, as a neighbor once observed, there was never an electric fan in our home. Baltimore was just different in the summer. The downtown department stores closed at noon on Saturdays. As you walked the streets you heard Orioles games on radios through all the open windows.

The Maryland Transportation Authority is planning more overnight closings of the westbound span of the Bay Bridge than previously indicated, with shutdowns for its deck-replacement project continuing for the next several weeks. The authority had said it would quickly wrap up its years-long schedule of regular weekday closings after the completion of pavement work on the $65 million project. However, it now says it will need several more weeks of late-night shutdowns for what it calls "demobilization" of the projects and other "punch list items."

Maryland transportation officials are warning motorists they will shut down the eastbound span of the Bay Bridge late Sunday. They will close one-lane of the eastbound span of the Bay Bridge at 9 p.m. Sunday evening, and close the entire eastbound span before midnight Sunday, according to a transportation department official. The span will remain closed until 5 a.m. Monday morning to accommodate repairs. Two-way traffic will operate on the westbound side of the bridge when the entire eastbound portion is closed.

Imagine running a 10-kilometer race more than 185 feet in the air, looking down and seeing the Chesapeake Bay. For those who've sat in traffic for what seemed like hours trying to get from one side of the Bay Bridge to the other - and even for those who haven't - Sparrow Rogers and Peter Paris want you to have another kind of experience on the 4.3-mile span. The Queen Anne's County commissioners recently approved use of the bridge for the inaugural Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run, and the event is expected to gain the support of the Department of Natural Resources for use of the parking lots at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, where the race is scheduled to begin.

The state has signed off on a proposal by a private group to run a 10k race across the Bay Bridge next year. The Maryland Transportation Authority agreed to allow the event, run by Bay Bridge Run LLC, on Nov. 9, 2014. The deal also includes 2015 and 2016. The tentative route runs from Sandy Point State Park, over the bridge to the finish line in Queen Anne's County. About 20,000 attended the first 4.3-mile walk across the bridge on April 27, 1975. The 10k run sponsored by the Annapolis Striders came a decade later.

A tractor-trailer that flipped on the Bay Bridge last week was carrying a load too light for the gusty conditions, a situation made worse when the trailer's soft canvas wall caught the wind like a sail, transportation authorities said Friday. "The vehicle shouldn't have been there," said Sgt. Jonathan Green, a spokesman for the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. The truck's driver, James T. Savage Jr., 53 of Owings Mills, received a $90 citation for failing to obey highway signs warning of wind restrictions on the bridge, Green said.

High winds and an overturned tractor trailer closed the eastbound and westbound spans of the Bay Bridge for several hours Wednesday afternoon. It reopened to passenger vehicles in both directions just after 6 p.m. The accident happened at about 2 p.m., when the westbound vehicle was struck by a gust of wind and forced against the guardrail. The passenger-side tires of both the trailer and cab were lifted from the pavement. The trailer was twisted like a piece of aluminum foil. The unidentified driver received minor injuries and was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis for treatment, officials said.

Wind gusts as high as 49 mph have shut down the Bay Bridge in Anne Arundel County to vulnerable large trucks, as weather conditions make for a problematic Thursday morning commute. Debris in the roadway has shut down the southbound ramp and one of two southbound shoulders of Route 295 and Route 198 on Anne Arundel County. Debris is also causing delays on Route 10 southbound at Furnace Branch Road. In Baltimore County, a collision is blocking traffic on the outer loop of Interstate 695 at exit 39 for Merritt Boulevard.

Wind restrictions have been issued for the Bay Bridge by the Maryland Transportation as a cold front pushing through the region is expected to generate strong winds. Two-way traffic has been eliminated on the eastbound span for Wednesday afternoon and evening and motorists should anticipate rush-hour delays, officials said. Under a wind warning, where gusts or sustained winds reach 30-39 mph, drivers of high-profile vehicles - such as box trailers - and motorcycles and vehicles with roof-mount racks containing cargo are urged to use caution.

The state on Friday will begin a weeklong project to install new safety measures on the westbound span of the Bay Bridge to guide traffic during two-way operation and eliminate some lane changes. Crews will install a buffer zone, rumble strips and continuous double yellow lines along the entire 4.3-mile length of the span, as recommended in a safety study last year. The result will mean motorists will not be allowed to switch between the left and center lanes at any time during a crossing.

Both spans of the Bay Bridge were closed for nearly two hours Tuesday during afternoon rush hour after a propane truck began leaking its contents on the westbound approach on Kent Island. Eastbound traffic backed up to St. Margarent's Road and westbound traffic was stalled as far east as Kent Narrows while emergency crews dealt with the situation. At one point, Maryland Transportation Authority officials urged motorists to seek alternate routes, including Delaware roads. The MdTA closed the bridges about 3:20 p.m., when a white tanker truck began venting a plume of white smoke near the intersection of westbound U.S. 50 and Route 8 in Stevensville.

If you stayed put this Thanksgiving, you weren't home alone. Despite experts projecting a slight increase in travel, it appears Maryland's busiest highways were a little less crowded. Superstorm Sandy may have had a role in spoiling holiday plans. Total traffic from Tuesday through Sunday at the Fort McHenry Tunnel was down 2.4 percent over the same period last year, the Bay Bridge volume dropped 1.5 percent and Interstate 95 slipped 1.1 percent, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

Continuous rumble strips and a vividly painted buffer will be added to the Bay Bridge to protect motorists when the westbound span is running with two-way traffic. The Maryland Transportation Authority board voted unanimously to accept the recommendations of a safety committee that evaluated the conditions surrounding five fatal crashes over the last 12 years and looked at modifications — from permanent barriers to temporary markers — to protect the public. The rumble strip installation and paint job, expected to cost less than $500,000, will be carried out next spring in time for summer traffic, officials said.